Specimen preparation apparatus, specimen preparation/analysis system and specimen plate

ABSTRACT

Provided is a specimen preparation apparatus capable of supplying a specimen from the specimen preparation apparatus to a specimen analyzer without burdening an operator. This specimen preparation apparatus comprises a stained specimen preparation part for preparing a specimen on a slide glass and staining the specimen, a keeping part for storing the stained specimen slide glass prepared in the stained specimen preparation part and a control part for deciding whether to supply the stained specimen slide glass to the keeping part or to the external apparatus.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/172,035 filed on Jun. 30, 2005 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,875,241,which claims priority to JP2004-192880 filed on Jun. 30, 2004. Theentire contents of these applications are hereby incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a specimen preparation apparatus, aspecimen preparation/analysis system and a specimen plate, and moreparticularly, it relates to a specimen preparation apparatus forpreparing a specimen on a slide glass, a specimen preparation/analysissystem and a specimen plate having a specimen preparation area forpreparing a specimen.

2. Description of the Background Art

A blood smear A blood smear preparation apparatus preparing a bloodspecimen by smearing blood on a slide glass (specimen plate) isgenerally known as a specimen preparation apparatus, as disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 5,779,982, for example. The aforementioned U.S. Pat. No.5,779,982 discloses a blood smear preparation apparatus automaticallycarrying out steps from that of smearing blood on a slide glass up to astaining step. In the blood smear preparation apparatus disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 5,779,982, cassettes storing stained slide glasses(specimens) respectively are kept in a keeping part provided in theblood smear preparation apparatus.

On the other hand, an automatic blood cell analyzer automaticallyclassifying blood cells by digitally image-processing a blood specimenis generally known as a specimen analyzer. A smear prepared in theaforementioned blood smear preparation apparatus can be analyzed withthis automatic blood cell analyzer. In order to analyze the smearprepared in the blood smear preparation apparatus with the automaticblood cell analyzer, an operator generally unloads a stained slide glass(specimen) stored in the corresponding cassette kept in the keeping partof the blood smear preparation apparatus, stores the slide glass in amagazine dedicated to the automatic blood cell analyzer and sets themagazine on the automatic blood cell analyzer.

According to the aforementioned conventional method requiring theoperator to unload the stained slide glass (specimen) from the cassettekept in the blood smear preparation apparatus, store the same in themagazine and set the magazine on the automatic blood cell analyzer,however, the operator is disadvantageously burdened.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been proposed in order to solve theaforementioned problem, and an object thereof is to provide a specimenpreparation apparatus capable of supplying a specimen from the specimenpreparation apparatus to a specimen analyzer without burdening anoperator and a specimen preparation/analysis system.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a specimen plateallowing the operator to confirm a large quantity of detailed specimeninformation without inquiring specimen information from a host computer.

In order to attain the aforementioned objects, a specimen preparationapparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention, which isa specimen preparation apparatus capable of preparing a specimen on aslide glass, staining the specimen and supplying the stained specimenslide glass formed with the stained specimen to an external apparatus,comprises a stained specimen preparation part for preparing the specimenon the slide glass and staining the specimen, a keeping part for storingthe stained specimen slide glass prepared in the stained specimenpreparation part and a control part for deciding whether to supply thestained specimen slide glass to the keeping part or to the externalapparatus.

A specimen preparation/analysis system according to a second aspect ofthe present invention comprises specimen preparation means for preparinga stained specimen slide glass by preparing a specimen on a slide glassand staining the specimen, specimen analysis means for analyzing thestained specimen slide glass and specimen keeping/supply means having afirst keeping part for keeping the stained specimen slide glass preparedin the specimen preparation means and a supply part for supplying thestained specimen slide glass to the specimen analysis means.

A specimen preparation/analysis system according to a third aspect ofthe present invention comprises a specimen preparation apparatus forpreparing a stained specimen slide glass by preparing a specimen on aslide glass and staining the specimen and a sample analyzer includinganalysis means for analyzing the stained specimen slide glass preparedin the specimen preparation apparatus, identification informationdetection means detecting identification information provided in thestained specimen slide glass and analysis control means controlling theanalysis means on the basis of the detected identification information.

A specimen plate according to a fourth aspect of the present inventioncomprises a specimen preparation area for preparing a specimen and aninformation display area for displaying specimen-related information.The information display area includes a first display area displaying abar code bidirectionally holding the specimen-related information inhorizontal and vertical directions in plan view and a second displayarea displaying the specimen-related information in a visuallyrecognizable format.

The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of thepresent invention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of the present invention when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall structure of a specimenpreparation/analysis system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the specimen preparation/analysissystem according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the internal structure of the specimenpreparation/analysis system according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a frosted part of a slide glass employedin the specimen preparation/analysis system according to the embodimentshown in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are perspective views of a cassette and the slide glassemployed in the specimen preparation/analysis system according to theembodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of a second cassette transport part of aspecimen preparation apparatus of the specimen preparation/analysissystem according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the second cassette transport part shownin FIG. 7 as viewed from a direction A;

FIG. 9 is another perspective view of the second cassette transport partshown in FIG. 7 as viewed from a direction B;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the second cassette transport part shown inFIG. 7 as viewed from the direction A;

FIG. 11 is another plan view of the second cassette transport part shownin FIG. 7 as viewed from the direction B;

FIGS. 12 and 13 are enlarged views of a cassette detection part of thesecond cassette transport part shown in FIG. 7;

FIGS. 14 and 15 are plan views for illustrating operations of the secondcassette transport part of the specimen preparation apparatus of thespecimen preparation/analysis system according to the embodiment shownin FIG. 1;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a feed part of a keeping part of thespecimen preparation apparatus of the specimen preparation/analysissystem according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 17 is a side elevational view for illustrating operations of thefeed part of the keeping part shown in FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a flow chart for illustrating operations of the specimenpreparation/analysis system according to the embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram showing a specimen preparation/analysissystem according to a first modification of the embodiment;

FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram showing a specimen preparation/analysissystem according to a second modification of the embodiment; and

FIG. 21 is an enlarged view of a frosted part of a slide glass accordingto a third modification of the embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment of the present invention is now described with referenceto the drawings.

First, the overall structure of a specimen preparation/analysis systemaccording to this embodiment is described with reference to FIGS. 1 to3.

As shown in FIG. 1, the specimen preparation/analysis system accordingto this embodiment comprises a blood smear preparation apparatus 100, atransporter 200 and an automatic blood cell analyzer 300. The automaticblood cell analyzer 300 digitally image-processes a specimen prepared inthe blood smear preparation apparatus 100 while automaticallyclassifying blood cells. The blood smear preparation apparatus 100prepares two types of specimens, i.e., an automatically analyzedspecimen analyzable in the automatic blood cell analyzer 300 and avisually observed specimen allowing visual analysis. The transporter 200is set on the front surface of the blood smear preparation apparatus100, while the automatic blood cell analyzer 300 is set on a sidesurface of the blood smear preparation apparatus 100. A host computer400 is connected to a control part 110 of the blood smear preparationapparatus 100, as shown in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 1, the transporter 200 is provided for automaticallytransporting a sample rack 150 storing test tubes 151 storing blood tothe blood smear preparation apparatus 100. The blood smear preparationapparatus 100 includes a display operation part 101 formed by a touchpanel, a starting switch 102, a power switch 103 and a cover 104. Theblood smear preparation apparatus 100 is further provided with a handmember 160 for transporting the test tubes 151 storing blood from thetransporter 200 toward the blood smear preparation apparatus 100. Rubberstoppers 151 a are attached to the test tubes 151 storing blood.

As shown in FIG. 3, the blood smear preparation apparatus 100 comprisesa sucking/dispensing mechanism part 1, a smearing part 2, resincassettes 3, a cassette storage part 4, a first cassette transport part5, a slide glass insertion part 6, a staining part 7, a second cassettetransport part 8 and a keeping part 9. The sucking/dispensing mechanismpart 1 has a function of sucking blood from each test tube 151transported toward the blood smear preparation apparatus 100 by the handmember 160 (see FIG. 1) while dropping the sucked blood on slide glasses10. As shown in FIG. 3, this sucking/dispensing mechanism part 1includes a piercer (suction needle) 1 a for sucking the blood from eachtest tube 151, a pipette 1 b for dispensing the sucked blood to theslide glasses 10, a syringe pump 1 c connected to the piercer 1 a andthe pipette 1 b, a valve 1 d for opening/closing a passage between thepiercer 1 a and the syringe pump 1 c and another valve 1 e foropening/closing another passage between the pipette 1 b an the syringepump 1 c.

According to this embodiment, the sucking/dispensing mechanism part 1has a function of dispensing the same blood (sample) to two slideglasses 10 while regulating the volume of the dispensed blood to thosecorresponding to an automatically analyzed specimen and a visuallyobserved specimen respectively.

The smearing part 2 is provided for supplying the slide glasses 10 to adispensing/smearing position 20 while smearing the slide glasses 10 withthe dropped blood, drying the same and printing information on the slideglasses 10. This smearing part 2 is provided with a slide glass supplypart 2 a, two slide glass storage parts 2 b, a draw glass 2 c, feedingbelts 2 d and 2 e, a fan 2 f, a printing part 2 g and a slide glasstransport part 2 h.

The slide glass supply part 2 a has a function of supplying the slideglasses 10 stored in the two slide glass storage parts 2 b onto thefeeding belts 2 e with an unloading mechanism (not shown) and chucks(not shown) mounted on the feeding belt 2 d. The feeding belts 2 e areso formed as to transport the slide glasses 10 to thedispensing/smearing position 20 and drying positions 21 a and 21 b. Thedraw glass 2 c is rendered movable to a position for coming into contactwith the slide glasses 10 and also movable along the longitudinaldirection of the slide glasses 10, to be capable of smearing the slideglasses 10 with the blood dispensed thereto on the dispensing/smearingposition 20. The fan 2 f is provided for drying the blood smeared on theslide glasses 10 transported to the drying positions 21 a and 21 b.

According to this embodiment, the printing part 2 g is formed by athermal transfer printer. This printing part 2 g is provided forprinting a two-dimensional bar code 10 b storing specimen informationsuch as a sample number, a date, a serial number and a name and threerows of text data formed by the date (Jul. 6, 2004) 10 c, the name(Sysmex) 10 d and the sample number (BA15617) 10 e included in thespecimen information as attribute information on a frosted part(information display area) 10 a of each slide glass 10, as shown in FIG.4. The term “two-dimensional bar code” denotes a bar codebidirectionally holding information in horizontal and verticaldirections in plan view. The two-dimensional bar code 10 b printed onthe frosted part 10 a of the slide glass 10 is formed by a data matrixor a QR code. The quantity of information (the number of storablecharacters) in the two-dimensional bar code 10 b is 50 digits at themaximum for half-sized characters, or 25 digits at the maximum forfull-sized characters.

Durable ink is employed for the printing part (thermal transfer printer)2 g, so that the two-dimensional bar code 10 b and the text data (10 cto 10 e) printed on the frosted part 10 a of the slide glass 10 are noteluted by an organic solvent such as alcohol or xylene employed instaining and microscopy.

According to this embodiment, the frosted part (information displayarea) 10 a of the slide glass 10 is arranged on a region closer to oneend of the slide glass 10 to be adjacent to a specimen preparation area10 f along the longitudinal direction of the slide glass 10, as shown inFIGS. 4 and 5. A bar code print area F1 and a text print area F2 of thefrosted part 10 a printed with the two-dimensional bar code 10 b and thethree rows of text data (10 c to 10 e) respectively are arranged to beadjacent to each other along the shorter direction of the slide glass10. The two-dimensional bar code 10 b has a square shape in plan view.The three rows of text data (10 c to 10 e) are arranged to be adjacentto each other at prescribed intervals along the longitudinal directionof the slide glass 10, so that the lengths of the bar code print area F1and the text print area F2 are equal to each other along thelongitudinal direction of the slide glass 10. The characters andnumerals constituting the three rows of text data (10 c to 10 e)respectively are arranged along the shorter direction of the slide glass10. In this case, eight half-sized characters are printable as the textdata at the maximum.

According to this embodiment, a printable coating film 10 g of a coatingagent such as resin is formed on a region of the slide glass 10corresponding to the frosted part 10 a. The coating agent constitutingthis coating film 10 g has excellent durability against the organicsolvent such as alcohol or xylene employed in staining and microscopy.The two-dimensional bar code 10 b and the three rows of text data (10 cto 10 e) are printed on the upper surface of the coating film 10 glocated on the frosted part 10 a. The coating film 10 g is formed toextend from the frosted part 10 a along the longitudinal direction ofthe slide glass 10 for holding the specimen preparation area 10 f.

As shown in FIG. 3, the slide glass transport part 2 h is provided formoving the slide glasses 10 from ends of the feeding belts 2 e to theprinting part 2 g while moving the printed slide glasses 10 to storagepositions of the cassettes 3. This slide glass transport part 2 hincludes a transverse mover 2 i for transversely moving the slideglasses 10 from the ends of the feeding belts 2 e to a transverseprinting position 21 c along allow X in FIG. 3 and a vertical mover 2 jfor vertically moving the slide glasses 10 to a vertical printingposition 21 d and a storage position 21 e for the cassettes 3 alongarrow Y in FIG. 3 respectively.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, each resin cassette 3 is rendered capable ofstoring each smeared slide glass 10 and a liquid (stain) employed in astaining step. More specifically, the cassette 3 includes a slide glassreceiving hole 3 a, a stain sucking/dispensing hole 3 b, partitions 3 cand 3 d, a slide glass support part 3 e, two magnet adsorption members 3f of a metal for adsorbing magnets, a transport belt engaging part 3 g,a pair of side face parts 3 h and 3 i and another pair of side faceparts 3 j and 3 k. The slide glass receiving hole 3 a and the stainsucking/dispensing hole 3 b communicate with each other inside thecassette 3. The side face parts 3 j and 3 k project beyond the side faceparts 3 h and 3 i by a prescribed amount respectively, and are arrangedon upper portions of the cassette 3.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cassette storage part 4, provided forintroducing the cassettes 3 into the apparatus, includes a feeding belt4 a.

The first cassette transport part 5 shown in FIG. 3 is provided fortransporting the cassettes 3 received from the cassette storage part 4to the slide glass insertion part 6 and the staining part 7. This firstcassette transport part 5 includes a horizontally movable cassettetransport member 5 a, a driving belt 5 b for horizontally moving thecassette transport member 5 a and a transport path 5 c for transportingthe cassettes 3 supplied from the cassette storage part 4.

The slide glass insertion part 6 shown in FIG. 3 is provided for storingthe smeared and printed slide glasses 10 into the slide glass receivingholes 3 a of the cassettes 3. This slide glass insertion part 6 includesa cassette rotation mechanism part 6 a for horizontally arranging thecassettes 3 to be capable of receiving the slide glasses 10.

The staining part 7 shown in FIG. 3 is provided for staining the smearedslide glasses 10 by supplying the stain to the stain sucking/dispensingholes 3 b of the cassettes 3 transported by the cassette transportmember 5 a. This staining part 7 includes a feed member 7 a for feedingthe cassettes 3 transported by the cassette transport member 5 a into asecond sucking/discharging part 7 d of the staining part 7, transportbelts 7 b for transporting the cassettes 3 received from the feed member7 a, first to fifth sucking/discharging parts 7 c to 7 g for supplyingand discharging the stain to and from the cassettes 3 and a fan 7 h fordrying the smeared slide glasses 10.

According to this embodiment, the second cassette transport part 8 isrendered capable of transporting the cassettes 3 storing the smearedslide glasses 10 to both of an inlet 300 a of the automatic blood cellanalyzer 300 and a port 9 a of the keeping part 9 of the blood smearpreparation apparatus 100. The structure of the second cassettetransport part 8 according to this embodiment is now described in detailwith reference to FIGS. 3 and 7 to 13. As shown in FIG. 7, the secondcassette transport part 8 is constituted of a transport part 8 b mountedon a frame 8 a, a cassette detection part 8 c and transport paths 8 dand 8 e. As shown in FIGS. 8, 10 and 11, the frame 8 a is provided withholes 8 f and 8 g in a lower region corresponding to the transport part8 b and a region corresponding to the cassette detection part 8 crespectively.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the transport part 8 b is constituted of amoving member 81, a moving member sensor 82, pulleys 83 a and 83 b, adriving belt 84, a direct-acting guide 85 and a drive motor 86. As shownin FIG. 7, the moving member sensor 82 and the drive motor 86 arearranged inside the frame 8 a, while the pulleys 83 a and 83 b, thedriving belt 84 and the direct-acting guide 85 are arranged outside theframe 8 a.

As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, the moving member 81 is made of sheet metal,and has two contact parts 81 a and 81 b, a detection part 81 c and amounting part 81 d. The two contact parts 81 a and 81 b and thedetection part 81 c of the moving member 81 are arranged inside theframe 8 a as shown in FIGS. 7 and 10, while the mounting part 81 d isarrange outside the frame 8 a through the hole 8 f of the frame 8 a asshown in FIGS. 7 and 11.

The contact parts 81 a and 81 b of the moving member 81 come intocontact with the side face parts 3 h and 3 j of each cassette 3respectively for moving the cassette 3, as shown in FIG. 8. As shown inFIG. 9, the detection part 81 c of the moving member 81 is provided fordetecting the position of the moving member 81 with the moving membersensor 82. The mounting part 81 d of the moving member 81 is mounted onthe direct-acting guide 85. A belt coupling part 81 e is provided on themounting part 81 d of the moving member 81. This belt coupling part 81 eis coupled to the driving belt 84 with a mounter 81 f. As shown in FIG.7, the driving belt 84 is mounted on the pulleys 83 a and 83 b, whilethe pulley 83 a is coupled to the drive motor 86. Thus, the drive motor86 rotates the pulley 83 a while driving the driving belt 84, therebymoving the moving member 81 coupled to the driving belt 84. The intervalbetween the pulleys 83 a and 83 b mounted with the driving belt 84 is soset that the contact parts 81 a and 81 b of the moving member 81 coupledto the driving belt 84 can reach the inlet 300 a of the automatic bloodcell analyzer 300.

As shown in FIG. 11, the cassette detection part 8 c is arranged outsidethe frame 8 a. This cassette detection part 8 c is set on a region,receiving each cassette 3 transported from the staining part 7 (see FIG.3), forming a transport starting position 80. The cassette detectionpart 8 c is constituted of a cassette sensor 87, a detector 88 and twobrackets 89 and 90. As shown in FIG. 12, the detector 88 has a platespring structure formed by a bent part 88 a and a detection part 88 b.The bent part 88 a of the detector 88 is so arranged that its projectingportion projects into the frame 8 a through the hole 8 g thereof. Whenexternal force is applied to the bent part 88 a of the detector 88 fromthe inside of the frame 8 a, the bent part 88 a and the detection part88 b of the detector 88 are moved toward the outside of the frame 8 a,as shown in FIG. 13. The cassette sensor 87 has a function of sensingthe detection part 88 b of the detector 88, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13.The cassette sensor 87 and the detector 88 are mounted on the frame 8 athrough the brackets 89 and 90 respectively, as shown in FIG. 11.

As shown in FIG. 7, the transport paths 8 d and 8 e are made of sheetmetal. An end of the transport path 8 d is arranged on a regioncorresponding to the transport starting position 80, while the other endthereof is arranged on a prescribed region in the blood smearpreparation apparatus 100 adjacent to the inlet 300 a (see FIG. 3) ofthe automatic blood cell analyzer 300. The transport part 8 e isarranged on the inlet 300 a of the automatic blood cell analyzer 300.The transport paths 8 d and 8 e serve as passages for the cassettes 3pushed and moved by the moving member 81.

The keeping part 9 shown in FIG. 3 is provided for keeping the cassettes3 storing the slide glasses 10 stained in the staining part 7. Thestained slide glasses (specimens) 10 introduced into the keeping part 9are visually analyzed. This keeping part 9 is provided with a feed part9 b and a transport belt 9 c.

According to this embodiment, the feed part 9 b is mounted on the frame8 a of the second cassette transport part 8 and arranged on a regioncorresponding to the port 9 a of the keeping part 9, as shown in FIG. 7.This feed part 9 b is provided for moving the cassettes 3 transported tothe port 9 a of the keeping part 9 by the second cassette transport part8 toward the keeping part 9.

The structure of the feed part 9 b of the keeping part 9 according tothis embodiment is now described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3, 16and 17. As shown in FIG. 16, the feed part 9 b is constituted of aswinging member 91 of sheet metal, a support shaft 92 of metal, amounting member 93 of sheet metal, pulleys 94 a and 94 b, a driving belt95 and a drive motor 96. The swinging member 91 is provided for pressingthe cassettes 3 and moving the same toward the keeping part 9 (see FIG.3), as shown in FIG. 17. This swinging member 91 has a swinging section91 a, which swings to press upper portions of the cassettes 3. Theswinging member 91 is also integrally provided with a detector 91 b fordetecting presence of the swinging member 91 on a stationary position(non-swinging position), as shown in FIG. 16. A light transmissionsensor 97 for sensing the detector 91 b of the swinging member 91 ismounted on the frame 8 a through a bracket 98. As shown in FIGS. 16 and17, the mounting member 93 presses the support shaft 92 against theswinging member 91. Thus, the support shaft 92 is fixed to the swingingmember 91. The pulleys 94 a and 94 b are connected to an end of thesupport shaft 92 and the drive motor 96 respectively. The driving belt95 is mounted on the pulleys 94 a and 94 b. The transport part 9 isprovided with the transport belt 9 c for transporting the cassettes 3moved toward the keeping part 9 by the feed part 9 c, as shown in FIG.3.

According to this embodiment, the control part 110 of the blood smearpreparation apparatus 100 has a function of controlling whether totransport the cassettes 3 storing the stained slide glasses 10 to theport 9 a of the keeping part 9 or to the inlet 300 a of the automaticblood cell analyzer 300. The control part 110 further controlsoperations of the second cassette transport part 8 and the feed part 9 bof the keeping part 9. This control part 110 is provided with a memory111 storing specimen information such as specimen preparationconditions.

As shown in FIG. 3, the automatic blood cell analyzer 300 comprises afeed part 301, a cassette storage part 302, a slide glass unloading part303, a bar code reading part 304, an analysis part 305 and a controlpart 306. The feed part 301, having a structure similar to that of thefeed part 9 b of the keeping part 9 in the blood smear preparationapparatus 100 shown in FIG. 16, is set on a region corresponding to theinlet 300 a of the automatic blood cell analyzer 300. The feed part 301is provided for moving the cassettes 3 transported to the inlet 300 a ofthe automatic blood cell analyzer 300 toward the cassette storage part302. The cassette storage part 302 has a structure similar to that ofthe keeping part 9 in the blood smear preparation apparatus 100. Thiscassette storage part 302 is provided with a pair of transport belts 302a. The slide glass unloading part 303 has a function of unloading thestained slide glasses 10 from the cassettes 3 and transporting the sameto the bar code reading part 304. The bar code reading part 304 has afunction of reading the two-dimensional bar code 10 b (see FIG. 4)printed on the frosted part 10 a of each slide glass 10. The analysispart 305 has a function of digitally image-processing the specimens ofthe stained slide glasses 10 while automatically classifying bloodcells.

Operations of the specimen preparation/analysis system according to thisembodiment are now described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 18.

As a sucking/dispensing operation, an operator presses the startingswitch 102 to start the blood smear preparation apparatus 100, forsetting the sample rack 150 storing the test tubes 151 storing bloodsamples on a receiving part 201 of the transporter 200, as shown inFIG. 1. Then, the operator presses a start switch for automatic suctiondisplayed on the display operation part 101, for transporting the samplerack 150 to an unloading part 202 of the transporter 200. Thereafter thehand member 160 of the blood smear preparation apparatus 100 grasps oneof the test tubes 151 storing blood from the sample rack 150. The handmember 160 moves up and rotates to lift up the test tube 151 and stirthe contents thereof, and thereafter arranges the test tube 151 on thesucking/dispensing mechanism part 1 shown in FIG. 3. Thesucking/dispensing mechanism part 1 inserts the piercer 1 a into therubber stopper 151 a of the test tube 151 for sucking the blood. In thissuction, the valves 1 d and 1 e are opened (on) and blocked (off)respectively. After completion of this suction, the valves 1 d and 1 eare blocked (off) and opened (on) respectively. Thereafter the pipette 1b is moved to the dispensing/smearing position 20 shown in FIG. 3.

In parallel with the sucking/dispensing operation, the cassettes areintroduced with the cassette storage part 4 shown in FIG. 3. Morespecifically, the cassettes 3 are first set on the cassette storage part4. Thus, the feeding belt 4 a of the cassette storage part 4 engageswith the transport belt engaging parts 3 g (see FIGS. 5 and 6) of thecassettes 3, for feeding the same into a cassette standby position 40.The first one of the cassettes 3 fed into the cassette standby position40 is arranged on the transport path 5 c.

At a step S1 of a flow chart shown in FIG. 18, the control part 110 ofthe blood smear preparation apparatus 100 acquires specimen informationfrom the host computer 400 (see FIG. 2). This specimen informationincludes information such as sample numbers and the number of preparedsmears etc. The specimen information also includes information as towhether to prepare either or both of visually recognized andautomatically analyzed specimens etc. The specimen information furtherincludes information as to whether or not to analyze the specimens inthe automatic blood cell analyzer 300. At a step S2, the control part110 calls smear conditions from a database stored therein. In the smearconditions for preparing smears, the volume of dropped blood, the angleof the draw glass 2 c, the traveling speed of the draw glass 2 c etc.have been previously set in correspondence to desired smears. At a stepS3, the blood is dropped on (dispensed to) each slide glass 10 with thepipette 1 b. In order to prepare both of automatically analyzed andvisually recognized specimens, the sucking/dispensing apparatus 1dispenses the same blood to two slide glasses 10 with the pipette 1 b.In this case, the sucking/dispensing apparatus 1 dispenses the blood ina volume corresponding to the automatically analyzed specimen forpreparing the automatically analyzed specimen, while dispensing theblood in a volume corresponding to the visually recognized specimen forpreparing the visually recognized specimen.

At a step S4, the smearing part 2 smears the blood on the basis of thesmear conditions in parallel with or after the aforementionedsucking/dispensing operation by the sucking/dispensing mechanism part 1.As shown in FIG. 3, the smearing part 2 supplies the slide glasses 10 tothe dispensing/smearing position 20, for smearing the blood dropped onthe slide glasses 10, drying the same and printing information on theslide glasses 10. More specifically, the unloading mechanism (not shown)and the feeding belts 2 e supply the slide glasses 10 stored in the twoslide glass storage parts 2 b of the slide glass supply part 2 a ontothe feeding belts 2 e. Then, the feeding belts 2 e transport the slideglasses 10 to the dispensing/smearing position 20. The slide glasses 10have been transported to the dispensing/smearing position 20 before theaforementioned sucking/dispensing operation. In this state, thesucking/dispensing mechanism part 1 drops (dispenses) the blood on (to)the slide glasses 10 with the pipette 1 b.

Thereafter the draw glass 2 c moves to come into contact with the slideglasses 10 and reciprocates longitudinally along the slide glasses 10,thereby smearing the slide glasses 10 with the blood dropped thereon onthe dispensing/smearing position 20. At this time, the contact angle ofthe draw glass 2 c with respect to the slide glasses 10 and the speed ofreciprocation thereof are varied with the automatically analyzed andvisually recognized specimens. More specifically, the angle and thespeed are so regulated that the automatically analyzed specimens aresmaller in thickness than the visually recognized specimens. Thereafterthe feeding belts 2 e transport the smeared slide glasses 10 to thedrying positions 21 a. Then, the fan 2 f dries the blood smeared on theslide glasses 10 with cold air on the two adjacent drying position 21 aand 21 b twice. Thereafter the slide glass transport part 2 h moves thesmeared slide glasses 10 to the printing part 2 g. The smearing part 2prints the two-dimensional bar code 10 b storing the specimeninformation such as the sample number, the date, the serial number andthe name and the three rows of texts 10 c formed by Chinese charactersof the date and the name etc. on the frosted part 10 a of each slideglass 10 on the printing part 2 g.

Then, the cassette transport part 5 transports the cassettes 3 arrangedon the transport path 5 c one by one to the slide glass insertion part6. In other words, the cassette transport member 5 a constituting thecassette transport part 5 moves from the transport starting position 50while pressing the side face parts 3 h (see FIGS. 5 and 6) of thecassettes 3, thereby transporting the cassettes 3 to the slide glassinsertion part 6.

At a step S5, the cassette transport part 5 stores the smeared slideglasses 10 in the cassettes 3 and transports the same to the stainingpart 7 with the cassette transport member 5 a for staining the slideglasses 10.

More specifically, the cassette rotation mechanism part 6 a rotates in aprescribed direction for moving the cassettes 3 from a vertical positionto a horizontal position shown by two-dot chain lines in FIG. 3, to becapable of receiving the slide glasses 10. In this state, the verticalmover 2 j of the smearing part 2 advances for inserting the smearedslide glasses 10 into the slide glass receiving holes 3 a of thecassettes 3. Thus, the cassettes 3 store the smeared slide glasses 10.Thereafter the cassette rotation mechanism part 6 a rotates oppositelyto the aforementioned prescribed direction, thereby returning thecassettes 3 to the original vertical position. In the staining part 7,the first sucking/discharging part 7 c lifts up the smeared slideglasses 10 from the slide glass storage holes 3 a of the cassettes 3 fordispensing methanol to the stain sucking/dispensing holes 3 b of thecassettes 3. Then the staining part 7 returns the smeared slide glasses10 to the cassettes 3, so that the feed member 7 a places the cassettes3 storing the smeared slide glasses 10 one by one on the transport belts7 b. The transport belts 7 b transport the cassettes 3 to the secondsucking/discharging part 7 d.

The second sucking/discharging part 7 d lifts up the smeared slideglasses 10 from the slide glass receiving holes 3 a of the cassettes 3and dries the same by applying a blast from the fan 7 j to the smearedfaces of the slide glasses 10 for about 1 second to about 60 seconds,thereby evaporating the liquid component on the smeared faces and dryingthe smeared faces. The time (dipping time) for dipping the smeared slideglasses 10 in methanol with the first sucking/discharging part 7 c andlifting up the same with the second sucking/discharging part 7 d isabout 20 seconds to about 120 seconds.

Then, the staining part 7 performs staining (May-Gr{umlaut over(υ)}nwald/Giemsa double staining). First, the second sucking/dischargingpart 7 d sucks methanol from the stain sucking/dispensing holes 3 b ofthe cassettes 3, discharges the same, and thereafter returns the slideglasses 10 to the slide glass receiving holes 3 a of the cassettes 3.Then, the staining part 7 dispenses May-Gr{umlaut over (υ)}nwald stain(mainly composed of 99% of methanol) through the stainsucking/dispensing holes 3 b of the cassettes 3 and dips the smearedslide glasses 10 in the May-Gr{umlaut over (υ)}nwald stain. Thus, thestaining part 7 starts May-Gr{umlaut over (υ)}nwald/Giemsa doublestaining. The staining part 7 dips the smeared slide glasses 10 in theMay-Gr{umlaut over (υ)}nwald stain for about 1 minute to about 5 minuteswhile transporting the cassettes 3 with the transport belts 7 b. Thethird sucking/discharging part 7 e sucks the May-Gr{umlaut over(υ)}nwald stain from the stain sucking/dispensing holes 3 b of thecassettes 3, discharges the same, and thereafter dispenses dilutedMay-Gr{umlaut over (υ)}nwald stain to the stain sucking/dispensing holes3 b of the cassettes 3. The staining part 7 dips the smeared slideglasses 10 in the diluted May-Gr{umlaut over (υ)}nwald stain for about 1minute to about 5 minutes while transporting the cassettes 3 with thetransport belts 7 b. The fourth sucking/discharging part 7 f sucks thediluted May-Gr{umlaut over (υ)}nwald stain from the stainsucking/dispensing holes 3 b of the cassettes 3, discharges the same,and thereafter dispenses diluted Giemsa stain to the stainsucking/dispensing holes 3 b of the cassettes 3. The staining part 7dips the smeared slide glasses 10 in the diluted Giemsa stain for about1 minute to about 20 minutes while transporting the cassettes 3 with thetransport belts 7 b.

Then, the fifth sucking/discharging part 7 g sucks the diluted Giemsastain from the stain sucking/dispensing holes 3 b of the cassettes 3,discharges the same, and thereafter dispenses and sucks a cleaning fluidto and from the stain sucking/dispensing holes 3 b of the cassettes 3for washing the smeared slide glasses 10. Thereafter the staining part 7dries the stained slide glasses 10 with the fan 7 h.

At a step S6, the control part 110 turns on the cassette sensor 87 ofthe cassette detection part 8 c of the second cassette transport part 8,thereby calling the specimen information from the database stored in thecontrol part 110. More specifically, the cassettes 3 storing the stainedslide glasses 10 are transported from the smearing part 7 to thetransport starting position 80 of the second cassette transport part 8.At this time, each cassette 3 presses the bent part 88 a of the detector88 of the cassette detection part 8 c outward beyond the frame 8 a, asshown in FIG. 13. Thus, the detection part 88 b of the detector 88 movesoutward beyond the frame 8 a, thereby turning on the cassette sensor 87.Consequently, the control part 110 calls the specimen information fromthe database stored in the memory 111 thereof.

At a step S7, the control part 110 decides the destination of thecassettes 3 storing the stained slide glasses 10 on the basis of thespecimen information. In other words, the control part 110 decideswhether to transport the cassettes 3 to the port 9 a of the keeping part9 of the blood smear preparation apparatus 100 or to the inlet 300 a ofthe automatic blood cell analyzer 300.

At a step S8, the second transport part 8 transports the cassettes 3storing the stained slide glasses 10 to the decided destination on thebasis of information on the destination decided in the control part 110.More specifically, the drive motor 86 drives the driving belt 84 therebymoving the moving member 81 coupled to the driving belt 84 along arrowC, as shown in FIG. 10. Thus, the contact parts 81 a and 81 b of themoving member 81 come into contact with the side face parts 3 h and 3 jof the cassettes 3 respectively. Consequently, the contact parts 81 aand 81 b of the moving member 81 press and move the cassettes 3 alongarrow C. At this time, the cassettes 3 move along the transport paths 8d and 8 e arranged on the prescribed region in the blood smearpreparation apparatus 100 and at the inlet 300 a of the automatic bloodcell analyzer 300 respectively.

According to this embodiment, the control part 110 controls the pulsenumber of the drive motor 86 on the basis of the decided destinationinformation. More specifically, the control part 110 controls themovement of the moving member 81 along arrow C for completing movementof the cassettes 3 along arrow C on the port 9 a as shown in FIG. 14, inorder to transport the cassettes 3 storing the stained slide glasses 10to the port 9 a (see FIG. 3) of the keeping part 9 of the blood smearpreparation apparatus 100. In order to transport the cassettes 3 storingthe stained slide glasses 10 to the inlet 300 a (see FIG. 3) of theautomatic blood cell analyzer 300, on the other hand, the control part110 controls the movement of the moving member 81 along arrow C forcompleting movement of the cassettes 3 along arrow C on the inlet 300 a,as shown in FIG. 15. The second cassette transport part 8 transports thecassettes 3 in this manner, thereby terminating the operation flow shownin FIG. 18.

Then, the feed part 9 b of the keeping part 9 moves the cassettes 3storing the stained slide glasses 10 transported to the port 9 a of thekeeping part 9 of the blood smear preparation apparatus 100 toward thekeeping part 9, as shown in FIG. 3. More specifically, the drive motor96 rotates to drive the driving belt 95, thereby rotating the swingingmember 91 in the same direction as the drive motor 96 as shown in FIG.17. Thus, the swinging section 91 a of the swinging member 91 pressesupper portions of the cassettes 3, thereby moving the cassettes 3 towardthe keeping part 9 (see FIG. 3). The control part 110 controls thisoperation of the feed part 9 b. Thereafter the transport belt 9 ctransports the cassettes 3 to the keeping part 9, which in turn keepsthe cassettes 3, as shown in FIG. 3.

On the other hand, the feed part 301 presses the cassettes 3 storing thestained slide glasses 10 transported to the inlet 300 a of the automaticblood cell analyzer 300 toward the cassette storage part 302, while thetransport belts 302 a transport the cassettes 3 to the cassette storagepart 302. At this time, the feed part 301 of the automatic blood cellanalyzer 300 operates similarly to the feed part 9 b of the keeping part9. Thereafter the slide glass unloading part 303 unloads the stainedslide glasses 10 from the cassettes 3 and transports the same to the barcode reading part 304. Then, the bar code reading part 304 reads thetwo-dimensional bar codes 10 b printed on the frosted parts 10 a of theslide glasses 10. The bar code reading part 304 transmits the readsample numbers of the stained slide glasses 10 to the control part 306,which in turn inquires the sample numbers from the host computer 400.Thus, the control part 306 confirms whether or not the stained slideglasses (specimens) 10 must be analyzed before transporting the same tothe analysis part 305. If the stained slide glasses (specimens) 10 mustbe analyzed, the analysis part 305 digitally image-processes the stainedslide glasses (specimens) 10 while automatically classifying bloodcells. Thereafter the stained slide glasses (specimens) 10 subjected toblood cell classification are stored in a magazine (not shown) foranalyzed specimens. When no analysis is necessary, on the other hand,the stained slide glasses (specimens) 10 are not analyzed in theanalysis part 305 but stored in the magazine (not shown) for analyzedspecimens. The control part 306 controls the operations of the slideglass unloading part 303 and the analysis part 305.

According to this embodiment, as hereinabove described, the blood smearpreparation apparatus 100 is provided with the second cassette transportpart 8 for transporting the cassettes 3 storing the stained slideglasses (specimens) 10 to the inlet 300 a of the automatic blood cellanalyzer 300 so that the second cassette transport part 8 canautomatically supply specimens from the blood smear preparationapparatus 100 to the automatic blood cell analyzer 300. Thus, thespecimen preparation/analysis system can supply the specimens from theblood smear preparation apparatus 100 to the automatic blood cellanalyzer 300 without burdening the operator.

According to this embodiment, the second cassette transport part 8 alsohas the function of transporting the cassettes 3 storing the stainedslide glasses 10 to the port 9 a of the keeping part 9 of the bloodsmear preparation apparatus 100, whereby the single second cassettetransport part 8 can distribute the cassettes 3 storing the stainedslide glasses 10 to the port 9 a of the keeping part 9 and the inlet 300a of the automatic blood cell analyzer 300 when the blood smearpreparation apparatus 100 prepares two types of specimens, i.e., thosesupplied to the automatic blood cell analyzer 300 and those kept in thekeeping part 9.

According to this embodiment, the blood smear preparation apparatus 100,provided with the control part 110 controlling the second cassettetransport 8 to transport the cassettes 3 storing the stained slideglasses 10 to the port 9 a of the keeping part 9 or the inlet 300 a ofthe automatic blood cell analyzer 300, can easily distribute thecassettes 3 storing the stained slide glasses 10 to the port 9 a of thekeeping part 9 and the inlet 300 a of the automatic blood cell analyzer300 respectively.

According to this embodiment, the keeping part 9 of the blood smearpreparation apparatus 100 is provided with the feed part 9 b moving thecassettes 3 transported to the port 9 a of the keeping part 9 toward thekeeping part 9 while the control part 110 controls the feed part 9 b tomove the cassettes 3 toward the keeping part 9 when the second cassettetransport part 8 transports the stained slide glasses 10 to the port 9 aof the keeping part 9, whereby the second transport part 8 can easilymove the cassettes 3 storing the stained slide glasses 10 transported tothe port 9 a of the keeping part 9 toward the keeping part 9.

According to this embodiment, the second cassette transport part 8,provided with the moving member 81 coming into contact with thecassettes 3 for moving the same and the drive motor 86 driving themoving member 81, can easily transport the cassettes 3 to the inlet 300a of the automatic blood cell analyzer 300 with the moving member 81.

According to this embodiment, the moving member 81 of the secondcassette transport part 8 is provided with the contact parts 81 a and 81b coming into contact with the side face parts 3 h and 3 j of thecassettes 3 respectively so that the contact parts 81 a and 81 b of themoving member 81 can come into contact with the side face parts 3 h and3 j of the cassettes 3 respectively, whereby the second cassettetransport part 8 can stably transport the cassettes 3 to the inlet 300 aof the automatic blood cell analyzer 300.

According to this embodiment, the second cassette transport part 8 isprovided with the transport paths 8 d and 8 e arranged on the prescribedregion in the blood smear preparation apparatus 100 and at the inlet 300a of the automatic blood cell analyzer 300 respectively to be capable ofmoving the cassettes 3 from the transport starting position 80 to theinlet 300 a of the automatic blood cell analyzer 300 through the port 9a of the keeping part 9 of the blood smear preparation apparatus 100along the transport paths 8 d and 8 e, whereby the second transport part8 can easily transport the cassettes 3 to the port 9 a of the keepingpart 9 of the blood smear preparation apparatus 100 or the inlet 300 aof the automatic blood cell analyzer 300.

According to this embodiment, the cassette detection part 8 c, providedon the transport starting position 80 of the second cassette transportpart 8 for detecting arrival of the cassettes 3 storing the stainedslide glasses 10, can easily detect arrival of the cassettes 3 storingthe stained slide glasses 10 on the transport starting position 80 ofthe second cassette transport part 8.

According to this embodiment, the sucking/dispensing mechanism part 1has the function of dispensing the same blood (specimen) on two slideglasses 10 while regulating the volume of the dispensed blood to thosecorresponding to the automatically analyzed and visually observedspecimens respectively, whereby the specimen preparation/analysis systemcan easily prepare the specimen analyzed in the automatic blood cellanalyzer 300 and the visually recognized specimen from the same blood.

According to this embodiment, the blood smear preparation apparatus 100is provided with the printing part 2 g for printing the two-dimensionalbar codes 10 b storing the specimen information on the frosted parts 10a of the slide glasses 10 while the automatic blood cell analyzer 300 isprovided with the bar code reading part 304 reading the two-dimensionalbar codes 10 b, whereby the contents of the specimen information printedon the frosted parts 10 a of the slide glasses 10 can be increasedthrough the two-dimensional bar codes 10 b capable of storing largerquantities of information than one-dimensional bar codes. Also when thesecond cassette transport part 8 automatically supplies the cassettes 3storing the stained slide glasses (specimens) 10 to the automatic bloodcell analyzer 300, confusion between the specimens can be suppressed byconfirming the specimen information through the bar code reading part304 before the automatic blood cell analyzer 300 analyzes the specimens.

According to this embodiment, the two-dimensional bar code 10 b storingthe specimen information is printed on the frosted part 10 a of eachslide glass 10 so that the slide glass 10 can hold a large quantity ofdetailed specimen information due to the two-dimensional bar code 10 bcapable of storing a larger quantity of information than aone-dimensional bar code. Consequently, the operator can confirm a largequantity of detailed specimen information related to a prescribed slideglass (specimen) 10 by reading the two-dimensional bar code 10 b printedon the prescribed slide glass 10 without inquiring the correspondingspecimen information from the host computer 400. In this case, the textdata (10 c to 10 e) are also printed on the frosted part 10 a of theslide glass 10 as the specimen information in addition to thetwo-dimensional bar code 10 b so that the size of the print area of thetwo-dimensional bar code 10 b can be reduced through the large quantityof information storable in the two-dimensional bar code 10 b, wherebythe size of the print area of the text data (10 c to 10 e) can beincreased. Thus, the slide glass 10 can hold a large quantity of textdata (10 c to 10 e) as the specimen information. Therefore, when thetwo-dimensional bar code 10 b printed on the prescribed slide glass 10is hard to read, for example, the operator can confirm the largequantity of specimen information related to the prescribed slide glass(specimen) 10 through the visually recognizable text data (10 c to 10 e)without inquiring the specimen information of the corresponding slideglass 10 from the host computer 400.

According to this embodiment, the bar code print area F1 and the textprint area F2 of the frosted part 10 a printed with the two-dimensionalbar code 10 b and the text data (10 c to 10 e) respectively are arrangedto be adjacent to each other along the shorter direction of the slideglass 10 so that the length of the specimen preparation area 10 f alongthe longitudinal direction of the slide glass 10 can be increased ascompared with a case of arranging the bar code print area F1 and thetext print area F2 to be adjacent to each other along the longitudinaldirection of the slide glass 10 having the frosted part 10 a arranged onthe region closer to one end of the slide glass 10 along thelongitudinal direction thereof. Thus, the size of the specimenpreparation area 10 f of the slide glass 10 having the frosted part 10 aarranged on the region closer to one end of the slide glass 10 along thelongitudinal direction thereof is not reduced despite the bar code printarea F1 and the text print area F2 arranged on the frosted part 10 a. Inthis case, the two-dimensional bar code 10 b is so formed in the squareshape in plan view that the text print area F2 remains unchanged alsowhen the direction of arrangement of the two-dimensional bar code 10 bis changed.

According to this embodiment, the text data (10 c to 10 e), divided intothe three rows of different types of data, i.e., the date 10 c, the name10 d and the sample number 10 c, are easier to read as compared with acase of wholly displaying the date 10 c, the name 10 d and the samplenumber 10 c in one row. In this case, the three rows of text data (10 cto 10 e) are arranged to be adjacent to each other along thelongitudinal direction of the slide glass 10 while the characters andnumerals constituting the text data (10 c to 10 e) respectively arearranged along the shorter direction of the slide glass 10, whereby thetext data (10 c to 10 e) are more easily readable.

According to this embodiment, the three rows of text data (10 c to 10 e)are so arranged that the lengths of the bar code print area F1 and thetext print area F2 are equal to each other along the longitudinaldirection of the slide glass 10, whereby the frosted part 10 a of theslide glass 10 can be inhibited from wasting of a dead region providedwith no specimen information.

According to this embodiment, the printable coating film 10 g is formedon the region of the slide glass 10 corresponding to the frost part 10 awhile the two-dimensional bar code 10 b and the three rows of text data(10 c to 10 e) are printed on the upper surface of the coating film 10 glocated on the frosted part 10 a, whereby the frosted part 10 a of theslide glass 10 can easily display the specimen information (the samplenumber, the date, the serial number and the name). In this case, thecoating film 10 g is formed to extend from the frosted part 10 a alongthe longitudinal direction of the slide glass 10 for holding thespecimen preparation area 10 f, so that a plurality of slide glasses 10superposed with each other can be inhibited from adhering to each other.

Although the present invention has been described and illustrated indetail, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustrationand example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation, the spiritand scope of the present invention being limited only by the terms ofthe appended claims.

For example, while the present invention is applied to the specimenpreparation/analysis system comprising the blood smear preparationapparatus in the aforementioned embodiment, the present invention is notrestricted to this but is also applicable to a specimenpreparation/analysis system comprising a specimen preparation apparatusother than the blood smear preparation apparatus.

While the present invention is applied to the specimenpreparation/analysis system comprising the automatic blood cell analyzerin the aforementioned embodiment, the present invention is notrestricted to this but is also applicable to a specimenpreparation/analysis system comprising a specimen analyzer other thanthe automatic blood cell analyzer.

While the blood smear preparation apparatus is provided with the keepingpart and the specimens prepared in the blood smear preparation apparatusare distributed to the port of the keeping part and the inlet of theautomatic blood cell analyzer in the aforementioned embodiment, thepresent invention is not restricted to this but all specimens preparedin the blood smear preparation apparatus may alternatively betransported to the inlet of the automatic blood cell analyzer with nokeeping part provided on the blood smear preparation apparatus.

While the moving member having the contact parts coming into contactwith the side face parts of the cassettes storing the stained slideglasses transports the cassettes in the aforementioned embodiment, thepresent invention is not restricted to this but a further driving beltmay engage with the cassettes for transporting the cassettes.

While the second transport part transports the cassettes storing thestained slide glasses to the inlet of the automatic blood cell analyzerin the aforementioned embodiment, the present invention is notrestricted to this but the second transport part may alternativelyunload the stained slide glasses from the cassettes for transportingonly the stained slide glasses to the inlet of the automatic blood cellanalyzer. In this case, the specimen preparation/analysis systemincluding the blood smear preparation apparatus and the automatic bloodcell analyzer preferably has a structure such as that of a firstmodification of the embodiment shown in FIG. 19.

More specifically, a specimen preparation/analysis system according tothe first modification of the embodiment shown in FIG. 19 comprises ablood smear preparation apparatus 500 and an automatic blood cellanalyzer 600. The blood smear preparation apparatus 500 according to thefirst modification includes a sucking/dispensing mechanism part, asmearing part, resin cassettes (not shown), a cassette storage part 4, afirst cassette transport part 5, a slide glass insertion part, astaining part 7, a second cassette transport part 8, a keeping part 9and a control part 110 similar to those of the aforementionedembodiment. The control part 110 is connected to a host computer 400.

The blood smear preparation apparatus 500 of the specimenpreparation/analysis system according to the first modification furtherincludes a slide glass unloading part 501, a cassette storage part 502and a slide glass transport part 503. The slide glass unloading part 501is provided for unloading stained slide glasses (not shown) from thecassettes transported by the second cassette transport part 8 from thestaining part 7. This slide glass unloading part 501 has a chuckingmechanism part (not shown) for holding and lifting up the slide glassesand placing the same on the slide glass transport part 503. The cassettestorage part 502 is provided for storing the cassettes from which thestained slide glasses have been unloaded. The slide glass transport part503 is provided for transporting the stained slide glasses unloaded fromthe cassettes by the slide glass unloading part 501 to an inlet 600 a ofthe automatic blood cell analyzer 600. This slide glass transport part503 has a pair of transport belts (not shown), similarly to each of thecassette storage part 4 and the keeping part 9.

The automatic blood cell analyzer 600 of the specimenpreparation/analysis system according to the first modification of theembodiment includes a slide glass transport part 601, a bar code readingpart 602, an analysis part 603 and a control part 604. The slide glasstransport part 601 is provided for transporting the stained slideglasses transported to the inlet 600 a by the slide glass transport part503 of the blood smear preparation apparatus 500 to the bar code readingpart 602. The bar code reading part 602 is provided for readingtwo-dimensional bar codes (not shown) printed on the slide glasses. Theanalysis part 603 is provided for digitally image-processing specimensof the stained slide glasses while automatically classifying bloodcells. The control part 604 is provided for controlling operations ofthe bar code reading part 602 and the analysis part 603.

In the specimen preparation/analysis system according to the firstmodification of this embodiment, as hereinabove described, the bloodsmear preparation apparatus 500 is provided with the slide glasstransport part 503 for transporting the stained slide glasses(specimens) unloaded from the cassettes to the inlet 600 a of theautomatic blood cell analyzer 600, whereby the slide glass transportpart 503 can automatically supply the specimens (slide glasses) from theblood smear preparation apparatus 500 to the automatic blood cellanalyzer 600. Thus, the specimen preparation/analysis system can supplythe specimens (slide glasses) from the blood smear preparation apparatus500 to the automatic blood cell analyzer 600 without burdening theoperator.

In the specimen preparation/analysis system according to the firstmodification of this embodiment, the blood smear preparation apparatus500 is provided with the slide glass unloading part 501 for unloadingthe stained slide glasses from the cassettes transported by the secondcassette transport part 8 from the staining part 7, whereby the slideglass unloading part 501 can easily unload the stained slide glassesfrom the cassettes. Thus, the slide glass transport part 503 can easilytransport the stained slide glasses unloaded from the cassettes to theinlet 600 a of the automatic blood cell analyzer 600.

While the second cassette transport part transports the cassettesstoring the stained slide glasses to the inlet of the automatic bloodcell analyzer in the aforementioned embodiment, the present invention isnot restricted to this but another unit may be provided for receivingthe cassettes storing the stained slide glasses and supplying the sameto the automatic blood cell analyzer so that the cassettes storing thestained slide glasses are transported to an inlet of this unit. In thiscase, the specimen preparation/analysis system including the blood smearpreparation apparatus and the automatic blood cell analyzer preferablyhas a structure such as that of a second modification shown in FIG. 20.

More specifically, a specimen preparation/analysis system according tothe second modification of the embodiment includes a cassette storagepart 302 of an automatic blood cell analyzer 300 identical to that shownin FIG. 2 in a cassette supply unit 700 provided independently of theautomatic blood cell analyzer 300, as shown in FIG. 20. The cassettestorage part 302 of the cassette supply unit 700 is provided with asupply part 701 for supplying cassettes storing stained slide glasses tothe automatic blood cell analyzer 300. The cassette storage part 302 ofthe cassette supply unit 700 stores the cassettes storing the stainedslide glasses transported from the staining part 7 of the blood smearpreparation apparatus 100 by the second cassette transport part 8through the inlet 700 a. The supply part 701 supplies the cassettesstoring the stained slide glasses stored in the cassette storage part302 of the cassette supply unit 700 to the automatic blood cell analyzer300. The cassette supply unit 700 also includes a cassette keeping part307. This cassette keeping unit 307 of the cassette supply unit 700 isprovided for keeping the cassettes releasing the stained slide glassesafter the slide glass unloading part 303 of the automatic blood cellanalyzer 300 unloads the stained slide glasses from the cassettes. Theremaining structure of the specimen preparation/analysis systemaccording to the second modification of the embodiment is similar tothat of the aforementioned embodiment.

As hereinabove described, the specimen preparation/analysis systemaccording to the second modification of the embodiment, provided withthe cassette supply unit 700 storing the cassettes storing the stainedslide glasses and supplying the same to the automatic blood cellanalyzer 300, can automatically supply the cassettes storing the stainedslide glasses to the automatic blood cell analyzer 300 from the bloodsmear preparation apparatus 100 through the cassette supply unit 700.Thus, the specimen preparation/analysis system can automatically supplythe cassettes storing the stained slide glasses to the automatic bloodcell analyzer 300 from the blood smear preparation apparatus 100 withoutburdening the operator. Further, the specimen preparation/analysissystem supplying the cassettes storing the stained slide glasses to theautomatic blood cell analyzer 300 through the cassette supply unit 700independent of the automatic blood cell analyzer 300 can easily solelyoperate the automatic blood cell analyzer 300 by removing the cassettesupply unit 700.

While the printable coating film 10 g is formed on the region of theslide glass 10 corresponding to the frosted part 10 a and thetwo-dimensional bar code 10 b as well as the three rows of text data (10c to 10 e) are printed on the upper surface of this coating film 10 g inthe aforementioned embodiment, the present invention is not restrictedto this but the slide glass 10 may alternatively be constitutedsimilarly to a slide glass 10 according to a third modification of theembodiment shown in FIG. 21. More specifically, a label 11 printed witha two-dimensional bar code 10 a and three rows of text data (a date 11b, a name 11 c and a sample number 11 d) may be attached to a region ofthe slide glass 10 corresponding to a frosted part 10 a, as shown inFIG. 21.

While the coating film provided on the region of the slide glasscorresponding to the frosted part is formed to extend from the frostedpart along the longitudinal direction of the slide glass for holding thespecimen preparation area in the aforementioned embodiment, the presentinvention is not restricted to this but another coating film of amaterial different from that of the coating film provided on the regioncorresponding to the frosted part may alternatively be formed to extendfrom the frosted part along the longitudinal direction of the slideglass for holding the specimen preparation area.

While the two-dimensional bar code stores the specimen information suchas the sample number, the date, the serial number and the name in theaforementioned embodiment, the present invention is not restricted tothis but the two-dimensional bar code may alternatively storeinformation selected from results of analysis measured in a bloodanalyzer and results of WBC (white blood cell), RBC (red blood cell),HGB (hemoglobin concentration), HCT (hematocrit), MCV (mean cellvolume), MCH (mean cell hemoglobin), MCHC (mean cell hemoglobinconcentration), PLT (number of platelets) and five types of white bloodcells (neutrophil, eosinophil, basophil, monocyte and lymphocyte) asspecimen information. According to the aforementioned embodiment, thetwo-dimensional bar code so stores the specimen information that theslide glass can hold a large quantity of information such as theaforementioned results of analysis. If the slide glass holds theaforementioned results of analysis, the operator can recognize theresults of analysis made on a prescribed specimen prepared on acorresponding slide glass in addition to the specimen information suchas the sample number by reading the two-dimensional bar code whenreanalyzing the specimen after temporarily keeping the slide glass.Thus, the operator may not inquire the aforementioned results ofanalysis etc. from the host computer when reanalyzing the specimenprepared on the temporarily kept slide glass.

While the text data displayed on the frosted part of the slide glass areconstituted of numerals and/or alphabetic characters in theaforementioned embodiment, the present invention is not restricted tothis but the text data may alternatively be constituted of Chinese,hiragana and/or katakana characters in place of the numerals and/oralphabetic characters.

While the blood smear is prepared on the slide glass (specimen plate) inthe aforementioned embodiment, the present invention is not restrictedto this but a specimen for observing a urine visible component or acytodiagnostic specimen for diagnosing metastasis of cancer cells mayalternatively be prepared on the specimen plate. In this case, aspecimen plate of resin such as acrylic resin, vinyl chloride resin orpolycarbonate resin may alternatively be employed in place of thespecimen plate of glass or quartz.

1. A specimen plate comprising: a rectangular slide glass: a specimenpreparation area formed on one side of the slide grass and used toprepare a stained specimen; an information display area on whichspecimen-related information is recordable, the information display areabeing formed on the one side of the slide glass next to the specimenpreparation area; and a resin coating applied to cover the informationdisplay area, the resin coating being made of a material durable againstorganic solvent used when the specimen is stained, wherein theinformation display area comprises a first display area in which atleast some of the specimen-related information is thermally printed andformed with ink durable against the organic solvent used when thespecimen is stained, on the resin coating in a substantially squareshape and a format which is machine-readable bidirectionally inrespective two orthogonal directions and a second display area which isdivided into a plurality of sub-display areas in each of which at leastsome of the specimen-related information is thermally printed and formedwith the ink, on the resin coating in a human-readable format, and theinformation display area is arranged closer to one longitudinal end ofthe specimen plate, and the first display area and the second displayarea are arranged adjacent to each other along a width of the specimenplate.
 2. The specimen plate according to claim 1, wherein the pluralityof sub-display areas are arranged adjacent to each other along thelength of the specimen plate.
 3. The specimen plate according to claim2, wherein the plurality of sub-display areas each extend along thewidth of the specimen plate.
 4. The specimen plate according to claim 1,wherein the plurality of sub-display areas each carry text data.
 5. Thespecimen plate according to claim 1, wherein the first display area andthe second display area are substantially equally extensive along thelength of the specimen plate.
 6. The specimen plate according to claim1, wherein the plurality of sub-display areas carry different types ofspecimen-related information.
 7. The specimen plate according to claim1, wherein the specimen preparation area and the information displayarea are arranged adjacent to each other along the length of thespecimen plate, and the resin coating is formed to extend from theinformation display area along the length of said specimen plate so asto surround the specimen preparation area.